Behind the Seams: How We Created the Adire Red Rain Set Across Two Continents
The Adire Red Rain Set didn’t start in a design studio. It started at Notting Hill Arts Club in 2025, with an asymmetrical skirt that turned heads at Tim Lyre’s headline show, where Kold AF performed. Nearly three months later, that experimental piece has evolved into a complete set: fabric woven in Abeokuta, designed in Britain, and built for the woman who moves between boardrooms and evening events without missing a beat.
Tim Lyre and Kold AF perform at Tim Lyre’s headline show, Notting Hill Arts Club, September 2025.
Why Abeokuta? The Fabric Story
Abeokuta is one of Nigeria’s historic textile centres, known for generations of textile craftsmanship. Choosing to source fabric there wasn’t only about aesthetics, it was about supporting a living textile ecosystem.
The fabric used in the Red Rain Set reflects the qualities heritage materials prioritise: durability, breathability, and rich colour depth. Producing textiles in Abeokuta helps keep local craft traditions alive, ensuring these skills remain part of contemporary fashion rather than being replaced by industrial mills.
From there, the fabric travels to Britain, where the design development begins
“When you choose where your fabric comes from, you’re choosing whose livelihood you support.”
The Jacket’s Journey
The jacket in the Red Rain Set is Version 2 of my Adire Jacket series, evolving from the first iteration with a stronger focus on functionality. This version introduces four functional pockets and a structured collar designed to bridge smart and casual dressing. The goal was simple: create garments that look striking but also work in real life.
Designing across two continents requires patience and coordination, but it allows heritage craftsmanship in Abeokuta to remain connected to contemporary wardrobes.
Designed for Real Life
The Red Rain Set was designed as a versatile wardrobe system, rather than a single purpose outfit.
For work, the jacket pairs easily with tailored trousers or the matching skirt. For more relaxed settings, it can be styled with denim or wide leg trousers. Worn together, the set transitions naturally into evening events with simple accessories.
Both pieces also work independently; the skirt with knitwear or shirts, and the jacket layered over dresses or everyday basics.
The Joy Osula Philosophy
Joy Osula sits at the intersection of heritage textiles and contemporary functionality. The Red Rain Set reflects the direction of the brand: cross-cultural storytelling, practical design, and slower, more intentional production.
Rather than producing large speculative inventory runs, pieces are released in limited quantities and pre-orders, allowing production to match real demand while reducing excess waste.
“Joy Osula is for the woman who refuses to choose between heritage and modernity, between style and function, between Lagos and London.”
The Red Rain Set is now available as part of a limited drop, continuing the journey from Abeokuta’s textile heritage to your wardrobe.